Santosh Kumari Gorowara

FAIRBORN — Santosh Kumari Gorowara, née Nagpaul, passed away on Thursday, June 24, 2021 at the age of 87, eighteen years and one day after the death of her beloved husband, Professor Krishan Kumar Gorowara. She is survived by her two sons and their families, along with many nieces and nephews: older son Hemant (Bitto) and wife Pam (Bhardwaj) Gorowara of Tempe, Arizona and their children Tarun and Ajai, and younger son Rajeev and wife Christine Carrino Gorowara of Wilmington, Delaware and their children Alex and Sophie. Preceding her in death, along with her husband, are her parents, Dr. Dharam Chand Nagpaul (Pitaji) and Bhagwati Devi Nagpaul, née Gera (Mataji), and all of her adult siblings: brothers Madan Lal Nagpaul, Dr. Dhanpat Rai Nagpaul, Anand Narain Nagpaul, Esq., Iqbal Singh Nagpaul, Dr. Parmeshwar Singh Nagpaul, and sister Swaran Lata Rihani, née Nagpaul. Santosh Kumari Nagpaul was born in Leiah, India, in the state of Punjab. With the Partition in 1947, her family moved to New Delhi. In 1957, she earned her first university degree; Bachelor of Arts in Languages—Hindi, English, Punjabi, and Sanskrit—at Panjab University in Delhi, and married Krishan Gorowara, a professor at Delhi University, shortly after graduating. A year later, they welcomed their first son, Hemant (Bitto). In 1962, her husband was offered a visiting professorship at Montana State University in Missoula (which later became the University of Montana). She encouraged him to accept, and the small family of three set out on their adventure to America in August of 1962. While in Montana, they welcomed their second son, Rajeev. In 1966, the family moved again, this time to Dayton, Ohio where Professor Gorowara had been hired as one of the founding faculty members of the newly-formed Wright State University. By 1969, the family had settled in nearby Fairborn, in the house where Mrs. Gorowara lived for the next 50 years. Here she began to explore her fine artistic abilities, with encouragement from family, friends, and community. Mrs. Gorowara went on to earn two more university degrees, both from Wright State University: a Bachelor of Science in Art Education in 1973, and a Master of Science in Art Education in 1975. She taught art in local schools as well as adult education classes, and substitute taught all grades and subjects. She loved creating art, whether sculpture, drawing, or painting, and filled the home with her expression. She also enjoyed sewing, gardening, and traveling, particularly camping with her husband and two boys. She was an excellent cook. She was extremely proud of the accomplishments and the character of her two sons and loved being a grandmother to her four grandchildren. A teacher in life and still a teacher in death, Mrs. Gorowara donated her body to Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona for medical research. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to either the Santosh Gorowara Memorial Scholarship for Art Education or the Professor Krishan K. Gorowara Memorial Scholarship for Mathematics at Wright State University, Dayton OH: to give, call 937-689-1562 or email giving@wright.edu. An internet service will be held in early July. For specific date, time, and link, e-mail santoshgorowara@gmail.com.